Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University women's tennis team enters the 2014 season as the defending South Atlantic Conference regular season and tournament champion. Wingate opens the spring portion of its 2013-14 season Saturday, Feb. 1, hosting the NCAA Division I Campbell University Camels (1 p.m. first serve) at the Wingate tennis facility.
 
"We enter the season with high hopes," Wingate head women's tennis coach Michael Cabana says. "We have much experience in the line-up. Our line-up is pretty dynamic, especially with the return of sophomore Caroline Holland. We can do many things."
 
Wingate is the three-time defending SAC regular season and tournament champion. Earlier this week, the SAC coaches picked the Bulldogs as the pre-season SAC favorites. Cabana knows the Bulldogs have a target on their backs. "Trying to defend our SAC title is a motivating factor for us," Cabana says. "We know other teams are gunning for us. Every one of our opponents circles the Wingate match date on their calendars."
 
Seniors Ali Evers (Roswell, Ga.) and Morgan Winston (Lawrenceville, Ga.) and junior Becca Thomas (Alpharetta, Ga.) received pre-season recognition from the SAC. "Morgan is a strong leader for us," Cabana says. "Ali and Becca both possess solid leadership qualities. They help get the team going whenever we need a boost."
 
"Ali and Morgan are motivated to win four in a row," Cabana says. "They have done an awesome job helping the players understand how difficult it is to win in our league."
 
Wingate is number 50 in the Campbell/Intercollegiate Tennis Association NCAA Division II pre-season top 50 rankings. The Bulldogs were 19-6 overall (9-0 SAC) last season, advancing to the NCAA play-offs for the 11th time in school history. Cabana enters his eighth season with the Bulldogs this spring. In seven Wingate women's tennis campaigns, Cabana is 95-61 overall and 42-15 in the SAC.
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Wingate University, ranked as the 8th "best value" in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves more than 3,000 students on three campuses in Wingate, Charlotte and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 37 minors and career concentrations, numerous pre-professional programs, graduate degrees in business, accounting, education, physician assistant studies and sport administration, and doctorates in pharmacy, physical therapy and education.
 
With a 14 to 1 student/teacher ratio, Wingate students gain the tools and support needed to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life. To view current news, video and story ideas, visit www.youtube.com/wingateuniversity. 
 
In addition to a robust intramural athletics program, Wingate student athletes compete in 22 NCAA Division II sports. The University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past seven years. For more information, go to www.wingate.edu.
 
Wingate is first among NCAA Division II Academic All-America®-producing private colleges in the 2000's with 59 selections. Among North Carolina's colleges and universities, Wingate's 59 Academic All-America® honorees are number one during this millennium. Wingate's 68 lifetime Academic All-America® picks are tops among all SAC schools. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.